HomeMade Modern DIY Conference Table

I was comissioned to made this conference table for a startup called Yoshirt. I used angle irons to bind 2x6s into a sturdy solid wood tabletop, folding metal sawhorses as legs and wired 4 extension cords to the underside for charging stations. Building furniture for startups is a lot of fun. The energy level and optimism is high and their needs are constantly changing as they explore their potential. This table is great for meetings, but could also be used as a workstation or breakroom lunch table.

2x6s

I used seven 10-foot long 2x6s to make the tabletop.

1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 3/16" Angle Irons

I used 3/16" thick angle irons instead of 1/8" because the 2x6s were a bit warped and I wanted something heavy duty to hold them straight.

Folding Steel Sawhorse

These folding metal sawhorses look great, are super strong and can be adjusted to different heights.

3/4" Plywood

I used a few pieces of 3/4" plywood to brace the underside of the table in three places.

Extension Cords

I used four 15' long orange extension cords and one power strip to wire the table. I held the cords to the underside of the table with screw-in hooks and staples.

RYOBI 18 Volt Cordless Drill

RYOBI 4 1/2" Angle Grinder

RYOBI Orbital Sander

RYOBI 18 Volt Circular Saw

In addition to serving as the legs for the table, the folding metal sawhorse legs can be also be used for making the tabletop.

I sanded the 2x6s with 120 grit pads. This takes a while since they're 10 feet long.

I cut three 1 foot wide strips of plywood to use as supports on the underside of the table.

I placed the 2x6s on the sawhorses with the nicer sides facing up. Then I used the plywood strips and a couple of clamps to hold them in place while I marked where to cut the recess for the angle iron. I made sure that all the ends were lined up and used the angle iron to mark a line across.

Also make a mark where to trim the angle iron.

I clamped the angle iron between two of the 2x6s and cut it with my 18 volt angle grinder. I used an abrasive cutting wheel for this task.

After cutting both angle irons to length, I switched out the cutting disk for a 40-grit flap disk to ground the edges of the angle irons smooth. I clamped the angle irons to my work surface so that they wouldn’t move while I grounded them.

I used the two scrap pieces of angle iron to set the height of the blade on my circular saw to exactly 3/16". Then I clamped a speed square to the 2x6 to serve as a guide and made a series of cuts to create a recess that would allow the angle irons to sit flush.

I placed the angle iron over the 2x6s so that I could mark hole locations on the angle irons.

I drilled through the angle irons with a drill bit just big enough to allow the screws to fit through. I should've used cutting oil, but I didn’t have any and it worked out fine. However, I likely dulled my bit a little.

I used a larger drill bit to drill a countersink hole in the metal and selected a bit that was the same diameter as the screw head to drill just enough into the metal so that the screw head would sit flush.

I used clamps to hold the angle irons to the 2x6s while I screwed through the holes and into the wood. I started with the two end pieces and then moved the clamps to screw the metal to the wood one 2x6 at a time. The first end was easy, but because of the warping in the wood, I had to use the plywood and more clamps to bring the second set of ends in-line before repeating the same clamping and screwing process.

Flip the tabletop over and screw the pieces of plywood to the underside. I used about 25-35 screws per piece of plywood to make sure that the top was nice and strong and that the pieces wouldn’t bend independently.

Flip the top back over and give it a final sanding with 220-grit paper. I also rounded over the edges to make sure everything was nice and smooth.

I countersunk the screw heads, but they still stuck up a bit, so I tried grinding them down with the angle grinder and 40 grit flap discs. This was really easy and the result was awesome.The screws were ground down, flush with the angle iron and looked great.

I used screw-in metal hooks and staples to wrap the orange extension cords around the plywood supports and positioned the ends evenly around the edges of the table. The cords can be unhooked to reach different areas of the table or can be discreetly tucked away with the same hooks. I connected the four cords to a single power strip to make providing power easy.

I finished the table with a single coat of Danish oil and Johnson paste wax to protect the metal angle irons, which had clean exposed areas from the grinding. The sawhorses have holes in the top, so you can screw through them and into the wood if you're worried about the tabletop sliding.

Good luck making your own coffee pot upgrade and please email or tweet photos to @benuyeda or ben@homemade-modern.com. For more DIY ideas and projects, visit us at HomeMade Modern.